Student travel costs
Student travel costs are the costs that arise for the economical transport of students to school and back.
Legal regulation
In almost all federal states there are regulations according to which the student travel costs incurred are reimbursed to the student. Only the state of Baden-Württemberg does not provide for this, in this case the student or his / her parents have to bear the travel costs in full.
Student travel costs are only reimbursed if they are necessary. The need depends on the distance between the student's place of residence and the school.
| country | Primary level | Secondary level I. | Secondary level II |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hesse | 2 km | 3 km | - |
| Lower Saxony | regulated at the municipal level | ||
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 2 km | 3.5 km | 5 km |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 2 km | 4 km | 4 km |
State legal regulations
Hesse
The regulations can be found in Section 161 of the Hessian School Act . School transport costs are reimbursed for:
- attending primary and lower secondary level
- if the pupil leaves the lower secondary level after the 9th grade, a directly following vocational preparation year , basic vocational training year or attendance at vocational school or vocational school until the end of compulsory full-time education
Only the costs to the nearest school or, in the case of elementary schools, the elementary school responsible for the student's place of residence are reimbursable. When looking at the closest school, secondary schools are generally not taken into account.
Reimbursement of transport costs will only be made upon request. The school authority is responsible.
Lower Saxony
According to § 114 of the Lower Saxony School Act, the school authority must cover the travel costs for the visit:
- of the school kindergarten
- primary level and lower secondary level
- of upper secondary level (only mentally handicapped children)
- the entry-level school
- of the first year of vocational school for secondary school students
Only the costs up to the nearest eligible school for the chosen course are eligible for reimbursement. Exceptions apply to certain legally regulated facts that exceptionally allow attending another school (e.g. attending a half-day school or open all-day school instead of a bound all-day school, attending a non-denominational school in the state of Oldenburg). The school must not be located in another district, unless attending a school in the student's district would only be possible under unreasonable conditions.
North Rhine-Westphalia
In North Rhine-Westphalia, students in general education schools are reimbursed for the costs of school transport. The details are regulated in the School Driving Costs Ordinance of April 16, 2005 (BASS 11-04 No. 3.1; SchR 5.4 / 1).
The school authority is liable to pay the costs . If they also offer school season tickets for other use of local public transport as school transport, they can set a share to be borne by the parents.
Rhineland-Palatinate
Section 69 of the Rhineland-Palatinate Schools Act regulates the reimbursement of school transport costs.
In principle, the costs for attending all general and vocational schools are reimbursed. From upper secondary level and for attending vocational schools in general, however, a personal contribution is required, which is based on the income situation of the student or his parents. Originally, an own share also had to be paid for attending secondary level I in integrated comprehensive schools and grammar schools (but not in Realschulen plus), but the Constitutional Court of Rhineland-Palatinate , following a constitutional complaint from a father concerned, declared this regulation to be incompatible with the Rhineland-Palatinate constitution; it was then deleted from the law.
Eligible are the costs up to the nearest school for the chosen course (Realschule plus, IGS or Gymnasium). As an exception, the costs of attending a school further away are reimbursable if the school offers a different first foreign language.
On April 2, 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled on a submission from the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate that cross-border commuters from abroad whose children attend a school in Rhineland-Palatinate may not be denied school travel costs with reference to their place of residence abroad, because that violates the free movement of workers.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Constitutional Tribunal Rheinland-Pfalz, November 29th 2010, AZ VGH B 11/10
- ^ OVG Koblenz now has to decide: ECJ: Südliche Weinstrasse district discriminates against German students abroad - SWR.de